Hawkers and petty traders urge organisers to call off Sept 16 rally

The Federation of Federal Territory Hawkers and Petty Traders' Associations has urged organisers of the rally scheduled to be held in the capital on Sept 16, to cancel it, or choose a more appropriate location.

Its chairman Datuk Rosli Sulaiman said more than 50,000 petty traders were worried that it would disrupt their business here.

"I do not understand why and what is the purpose for them to hold the rally here when they know that Kuala Lumpur is a tourist attraction.

"Of course, if there is a large crowd, it will spell trouble to the business community and traders there," he told reporters here today.

Rosli said the Bersih 4 rally held at Dataran Merdeka here on Aug 31 had caused some traders in areas such as Masjid Jamek, Pudu and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman to bear losses of up to tens of thousands of ringgit.

Therefore, Rosli suggested the organisers to change the venue to a stadium, which would certainly not disrupt public order, and was a very suitable place gather tens of thousands of people.

He also opined that any rallies that were provocative in nature should be stopped by the police, and the public should also reject it them, as they could cause chaos, and undermine the country's security.